Question
by Lady Labcoat
Summary: Buffy has a question for Giles. Short one shot.


The gang was hanging out at the Magic Box. Giles stood at the counter, going through the mail. Anya was off harassing a customer. Xander ate lunch at the round table with Willow and Tara while they studied. Buffy sat in a chair, staring at Giles.

Suddenly, she spoke.

"Giles, would you marry me?"

Xander choked on a fry. Willow accidentally broke a pencil. Tara's face register mild shock.

Giles, however, didn't flinch or even bother to look up from his task. "Depends," he answered.

"On what?!"

"The terms of the question."

Buffy continued to look at him. "Huh?"

Giles set his mail down and looked at her. "Are you asking me as a man in general or personally?"

"In general."

"No."

She huffed. "Personally?"

"God, no." He picked up his papers and turned away from the counter, walking towards the office.

Buffy gasped, upset. She stood from the table and started following him. "Well, why not?"

"Why not?!" he asked over his shoulder. "You can't be serious." He rounded his desk and sat down. Buffy stood in front of him with her arms crossed. He looked up at her. "Are you actually upset over this?"

"Well, duh!" She plopped into the chair. "What don't you like about me?"

Giles stared at her blankly. "I don't understand the question."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "What is it about me that turns you off?" Giles made a face. "I mean," Buffy quickly continued, "that makes you not want to marry me?"

"Well, that is an entirely different question, now, isn't it?" Giles peered over his glasses at her.

"What? No it's not."

"Ah, but it is. At first you asked if I _would_ marry you you. Now you are asking if I _want_ to marry you. Two different questions." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

Buffy blinked at him multiple times before answering. "So... are you saying, you _want_ to marry me?"

"I, in fact, did not say that."

"So, you _don't_ want to marry me?"

"I didn't say that either."

Buffy growled in frustration. "You aren't actually saying much of anything, are you?!" Giles grinned at her. Buffy stood from her seat. "You... you are so... frustrating!" She turned and marched back to her seat at the table before plopping back down with her arms crossed over her chest. Giles sighed. He leaned his elbows on the desk and removed his glasses to massage the bridge of his nose. He heard a loud scrapping of chair legs against the floor and looked up in time to see Buffy marching back in. "Giles," she said in a much more calm and cool vocal tone, "do you want to marry me?"

He sighed. "Buffy, what brought this on?"

"I was just... thinking about my future. If I will even have one. What it would be like. Who would be in it."

"Of course you will have a future, Buffy. However, I still do not see how that translates to a marriage proposal."

"I-," Buffy gaped, "It- it wasn't..."

"Buffy, when, more likely _if_ , at this point, I marry, it will be to someone who cares for me, who loves me as deeply as I do them. And you should want the same." He stood from the desk and walked around it to her. He placed his hands on her upper arms. "You deserve a love of the ages. To be _in_ love. To be with someone you can't stand to be without. Someone who deserves everything that you are. Everything that you have to offer." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Pulling back, he said, "Buffy, as long as I live, I shall be in your future. You don't have to marry me to keep me around." He released her and went back to the sales counter.

Buffy took a few collecting moments thinking of what he said, what he _didn't_ say, and what it all meant before she followed him out. "Here's the thing," she started.

Giles sighed, "Buffy."

"No, you still haven't actually answered my question. Do you _want_ to marry me?"

Giles was getting irritated. "I want to marry someone who is in love with _me_ , Buffy. That isn't you." He walked away from the counter and threw the door to the training room open, then slammed it behind him.

Everyone was staring at Buffy silently. Even the couple of customers that were in the store. She turned her back and walked to the training room door. It was locked. She twisted the knob until the lock broke and she entered, gently closing it behind her.

Giles sat on the couch, his elbows rested on his knees. Hands clasped together. He raised his head to meet her gaze when she just stood in front of the closed door. They stared at one another for a long moment. "What do you want, Buffy?" he asked quietly.

She slowly walked over to him and then sat next to him on the couch. He continued to look at his clasped hands. "I'm sorry. I..." She trailed off. Unsure of what to do, she hugged his arm and rested her head against his shoulder. After a few minutes of silence, she said, "Ask me again."

He turned his head and spoke softly into her hair. "What do you want?"

"I want love. True love. A love that is unconditional. With someone who knows all my flaws, weakness, strengths, and still loves me anyway."

"That's what unconditionally means."

Buffy sighed. "Someone who is smart, not just a smart ass." Giles couldn't help but chuckle. "I want to fall asleep in someones arms and wake up to their kisses. Someone who cares about me, worries about me, fights beside me, but, you know, from a safe distance." She turned to look up at him, he pulled his head back to see her. "You were right, Giles. I deserve a great love. Someone I couldn't stand to be without. A person deserving of me. But... you were also wrong." She let go of his arm and pulled back slightly to see him better. He sat back against the couch. "I do love you."

Giles closed his eyes and rubbed a hand over his face. He put his arm across the back of the couch. "I know you love me, Buffy. I love you as well. More than you could possibly know, but..." he shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I am not making myself clear. Giles, I am _in_ love with you." Giles tried to speak but nothing came out. "I... had thought that maybe you felt the same. And then... out there..." Buffy looked to the door and sighed. "You were being so evasive. I just wanted to know I wasn't so completely wrong." Again Giles tried to speak but nothing would come out. Buffy looked down at her hands. "I guess I was," she muttered. Then she stood. She looked around, not quite sure what to do with herself. Giles was staring blankly at the couch where she had been sitting. She turned and headed back towards the shop.

Just as she was reaching for the knob, Giles grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. One hand went around to the small of her back and the other behind her head. He kissed her hard. She clung to his shoulders and opened her mouth, inviting him in. He immediately swept his tongue inside, exploring her mouth. After a few moments, Giles broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers with his eyes still closed. "Buffy," he whispered, "do you want to marry me?"

"Yes," she replied breathlessly, putting her hands in his hair.

He held her face in his hands and pulled back to look into her eyes. After searching them for clarity he said, "Ask me again."

Buffy took a deep breath. "Giles... would you marry me?"

A huge grin spread across his face. "Yes. Yes, Buffy, I would marry you."


End file.
